Homemade Ramen Noodle Bowls

An easy favorite comfort food recipe – Ramen Noodle Bowls are a crazy tasty 15-minute dinner. Everyone can build their own bowl with their favorite mix-ins and toppings.

You know those days when both you and your husband are sick? And there are two kids running around the house?

One of you is barely able to sit on the couch without falling asleep because blinking is so exhausting. One of you still has to prepare meals, keep the house standing, and wrangle the kids.

When you’re in that position, you need a quick meal that is delicious, nourishing, and easy enough to throw together while your sinuses are attempting to murder you. You need some ramen.

But you don’t need the 2,700 mg of sodium that comes with the cheap packaged stuff.

What Kind of Noodles Do You Use For Ramen?

Your choices are pretty endless; there are so many great options! Udon noodles are a thick and chewy noodle which will add extra hardiness to your soup. Soba noodles are made with buckwheat and will add a bit of nuttiness to your ramen noodle bowl.

You could also easily buy your favorite brand of ramen soup, ditch the flavoring packet, and just use the noodles. I buy the Lotus Foods brand from Costco because the price is fantastic (cheaper in person). They also happen to be gluten-free so if that is your jam, check them out.

How to Make Easy Ramen Broth

There are loads of homemade broth recipes that can make your ramen noodle bowls rival those of an authentic noodle house. But, if you’re like me and live in a wee little town with a #basicAF grocery store, many of those items can’t be purchased locally.

Veggies:

Misc.

Pro Tips/Recipe Notes

Don’t overcook the noodles unless you want a mushy cloudy broth. I’ll even turn the heat off after 2 minutes of cooking to keep the noodles super firm. The hot broth means your soup will continue to “cook” for a bit even off the heat.

If you have kids and everyone wants to eat at the same time, adding a splash of cold broth or ice cubes to their bowls will help cool soup for the littles.

Do yourself a favor and cut up the noodles for your kiddos to prevent an excessive mess. We use our kitchen shears which are used about 10 times a day in our household. These shears are a parent’s dream.

OTHER RECIPES LIKE THIS

Now, I can guarantee this is a 10-minute healthy meal that you’ll love and will warm your body and fill your belly. I cannot guarantee that this will stop your husband from whining and sleeping until 10 am.

In a large pot, bring your broth to a boil. Add the soy sauce, garlic, miso, and sesame oil. Cook for two minutes to soften the garlic.

Add the noodles, reduce to medium heat. Use a fork to start breaking them apart after 1 minute. Cook for 3 minutes for "al dente" noodles, or 4 minutes for a more thoroughly cooked noodle.

Transfer to bowls and add your favorite toppings!

Recipe Notes

Don't overcook the noodles unless you want a mushy cloudy broth. The hot broth means your soup will continue to "cook" for a bit even off the heat.

If you have kids, adding a splash of cold broth or ice cubes to their bowls will help cool soup for the littles.

Nutrition Facts

Homemade Ramen Noodle Bowls

Amount Per Serving (2 cups)

Calories 62Calories from Fat 9

% Daily Value*

Total Fat 1g2%

Saturated Fat 0g0%

Cholesterol 0mg0%

Sodium 328mg14%

Potassium 52mg1%

Total Carbohydrates 10g3%

Dietary Fiber 0g0%

Sugars 4g

Protein 1g2%

Vitamin A21.2%

Vitamin C2.2%

Calcium1.3%

Iron2.3%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

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This recipe was originally published in January 2013. It has been retested and updated with reader feedback. New photos have been added and the recipe has been made printable.

You sound like me… My friends ask me if I’m feeling ill, and I tell them no, just a bit off. I will not own up to being sick unless I’m like, 5 days into a bronchitis infection (like 2 years ago). Though then again, I’m not sick. At that point, I’m just dying.

The soup looks amazing. Is that just regular cooked ham? I’ve been having a very unusual and terrible luck finding ham to use, so I stopped using ham all together.

Our local butcher makes this specialty ham called “honey ham nugget” and it tastes exactly like BBQ pork from a Chinese restaurant. It’s precooked (smoked), so all I have to do it slice it and put it on the soup! It’s delicious.

I also have no h… however I DO love reading your blog and I also appreciate anyone who, (like me), incorporates hefty doses of sarcasm into their blogging. Whoever said sarcasm is a cruel form of humor was obviously… not funny.

What is it about men that makes their illness like 10 times worse? I am really excited to try this ramen. I have been wanting ramen for a while, but I didn’t want the sodium or the chemicals that you find in the packaged stuff. So excited to try this recipe.

um ditto. to the sodium engorged Ramen noodles (ick) and to the currently sick/whiney husband. If only I didn’t already spend way too much at the grocery store this week, and already threw out the leftover chicken broth I used in a recipe last night. Although, he probably is going to ask me to get him some sprite and cranberry juice- his need to feel better drink of choice- by the end of the day.

(Laughing myself silly)~~ we just went through this at my house too… are those soba noodles? Is there a difference? The soup looks good, I just made a big pot of turkey vegetable with everything-you-can-inmagine- thrown in…(leftover wild and brown rice, leftover turnip greens cooked with bacon and onions, leftover small bowl of vegetable soup), carrots, celery, onion, garlic, and a jar of homecanned turkey and broth.

Thinking about making a meatloaf today, because I’m feelig better and want some smashed potatoes. (Meatloaf legitimizes smashed potatoes, in case you don’t know). I actually just want some comfort food in general. It’s 10 degrees here, with a wind chill of 1.

Love your blog. Friend of mine has a shirt that says, “Sarcasm- just another service I offer.” Bahahahaha….

Hilarious. This so reminds me of when we are both sick at the same time. Or when I have to be sick and take care of the three kids for a week and he comes home from his business trip with the sniffles and sleeps for 2 days. SERIOUSLY guys! Suck it up.

Thank you Samantha. Since my husband doesn’t cook and sometimes doesn’t even think to get me something to eat when he gets something “to go” (“You were sleeping.”), he thinks I am fine, just FINE, when I drag myself out of bed and cook something. Then everything is right with his world. I had pneumonia when our youngest was about 18 months old and the doctor told him that the baby needed to be out of the house during the day or he’d hospitalize me. He complained that he had to take the baby to a friend at six in the morning and be late to his (stockbroker) job, as if the poor woman wanted ANOTHER KID at 6AM (that’s the earliest she was willing to commit to). He should have kissed her feet! They’re grown now, but still a handful at times! ; )

My husband spent TWO DAYS curled up in the recliner moaning under a pile of blankets with his “Terrible sickness”. Didnt.move.a.muscle.I handled the house, both kids (2 and a newborn), errands, etc., plus babied him the entire time. 2 days later, I came down with the same bug. Puked once, had a heartache, felt kind of sore, and still managed to do all of the above.

Hahahahaha! I am so sorry you are sick, and that Troy is, too!–But I just had to laugh at your description. Right after I gave birth, there was a big thing on the news about an infant who had an umbilical cord infection and needed one of those pressurized oxygen rooms they use for people who have “the bends” to heal it, and I was calling the doctor’s office, worried, because, indeed, my child’s umbilical cord wasn’t looking so hot even though I had religiously swabbed it with alcohol. When they FINALLY told me to come in, the nurse took one look and said, “Ohhhhh! That IS red!!” We moved six weeks after I had a c-section, and I was exhausted. That awful baby poo leaked out all over me and my ONLY clean outfit. I sat down, called my mother and wept, “There are TOO MANY ORIFICES!!! And they ALL need something IN THEM or cleaned OFF THEM!!”Adding to that, my wee one had closed tear ducts which led to infections. Sheesh. By my count, the baby had six orifices, I had four and my husband had one, so that made 11 attention seeking orifices. Wearing discs the size of coasters over my nipples did nothing to make me feel any better than the sleep number bed you describe, either (I was sporting a different brand).

Thank you for coming through for me! I often forget that while the Internet is a great thing and has opened a lot of doors for me, it can also be an absolutely terrible place. And today was one of those days, so I thought, “Maybe Sarah has something useful and/or hilarious written up today.” Turns out, I was right. When I saw “Mangina” in the title, I immediately started laughing.

Thank you.

PS I also really do like the recipe, but I think the comfort came from the post, not from the soup for me today.

ROFLMAO!!!!!!!!! I have had my “deep down belly laugh for the day, thank you very much. I almost spit my coffee out when I read the “title”. I had people down my hall at work asking “What’s so doggone funny?!!?!?! This will be a giggle day for sure! Thanks Sarah!

You inspired me to make ramen for dinner last night! I added a spoonful of miso paste to the chicken broth, some bonito flakes, spinach, mushrooms, onions and cracked an egg in at the last minute to poach it. Pretty tasty.

Hey there. I’m a college student who is teaching himself how to cook all his favorite foods to save money. First off, thanks for posting this and giving me the inspriation to finally try it, but this recipe was a little harder than it’s made out to be.

The reason why is because there is no measurment for how much broth should be used in the pot, and no estimate of how much noodles should be used in comparison to the broth. So I ended up with no soup and all noodles. The broth had “dried up” when I was done with the cooking.

You should add a distinct measurement for how much broth should be used as well as how many noodles.

Hey! I don’t have the measurements on there because everyone is so different. If you had four packages of ready made ramen, and four people, you’d see four very different bowls produced. I used to eat mine almost dry, whereas someone I went to school with loves hers with enough broth to kill and elephant.

The best part about cooking is learning what YOU like, and how you like it. It might take a bit more experimenting, but personalizing something for your tastes is a reward in and of itself!

I see. Thanks for the speedy reply. I’m definitely in the “enough broth to kill a small dog” category. Next time I think I’ll try a full box of broth and half a pack of noodles, rather than the other way around (lol). Back to the drawing board.

Made this last night with smoked turkey stock and left over turkey. Delicious. Added some sriracha for spice and chopped ginger and turmeric for health. I forgot about the jammy eggs but did them afterwards for leftovers. For your readers, the most foolproof way for my jammy eggs is a steamer basket over boiling water. Put the eggs in, covered, for 7 minutes. Take them out and immediately put into ice water. Peel like a dream and enjoy.

It went okay but we were too stuffed to eat at my in-laws other than samples of everything. I picked my baked turkey before we left and threw it in the crock pot for stock. That went into a gumbo the next day. Then I just loaded up the smoked turkey carcass and made another batch for the ramen. Earlier that day, we had gotten into a “discussion” on how I need to do more things for myself (you know, other than running the house and taking care of the kids while he’s out of town except for weekends for the entire holiday season). As he was making his gravy, he told me he miscalculated how much flour he needed. I saw him grab a cup of flour but I figured he had it because you know, he does everything for himself. Of course I had to rescue him by adding more fat then taking out part of the roux.